reinante

Reinante is a term used in Spanish and Portuguese to designate someone who is currently ruling or who holds sovereign power. As an adjective, reinante describes a monarch or government that exercises power at the present time, as in dinastía reinante or rey reinante. As a noun, it can refer to the reigning monarch, though in practice it is more common to encounter it as a modifier: monarca reinante, reina reinante, or dinastía reinante. The word signals status rather than a specific office and is most typical in historical, genealogical, or formal political writing.

Origin and cognates: Reinante derives from reinar, to reign, with the agentive suffix -ante. It has cognates in other Romance languages and related English term reigning (as in "the reigning monarch") and French régnant.

Usage and nuance: In constitutional monarchies or historical chronicles, reinante is used to distinguish the ruler who currently holds power from deposed or abdicated rulers. It can apply to both male and female rulers: rey reinante or reina reinante. In modern everyday language, simply el monarca actual or la reina actual is more common, while reinante appears in formal, scholarly, or literary contexts.

See also: Regnant is the English equivalent often used in formal discourse; related terms include régent (for a regent who governs temporarily) and reigning monarch.